Unfortunately all of the dance pictures have motion blur on the face. Motion blur on the hands and legs showing movement and dynamics works well, but the under lit pictures (and thus blurred face) are a miss for me.

If you want comments, you should number your posted pictures - much easier for the viewer.

Pictures 2, 8, and 9 are nicely caught action photos and are the best of the bunch.

I never understand why people post a group of photos that include poor quality (pictures 3 and 4 for example). Post just the best of the best (unless you are asking for help with a specific problem).

Nice idea, but technically flawed.

Photoshop

So, no one is going to point out that at the high shutter speed that these were shot at the cars look like they are parked on the track?

Iconic curve true, but nothing that shows any movement at all.

When I shoot cars at the track (when I'm not driving mine), I use between 1/120 to 1/360 of a second. Hand holding and careful panning. Lots less keepers, but the ones that work, show wheels that are turning, bodies leaning, and background horizontal blur that denotes speed. The pictures will then depict some racing dynamics.

1/160 sec

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1/160 sec

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1/250 sec

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Warm lenses taken outside (cold) and condensation on the lens. Can also happen with the camera body sensor. Either will cause blur.

As to no detail - are you using spot metering? Manual metering? Bright moon should be around ISO 100 with f8 and 1/500 sec. - the moon surface is very bright - full sunlight and will fool most meters due to all the black around it. If you are shooting the eclipse, you will have to increase the exposure by 1-3 stops for partial eclipses and more for full.

My eye is drawn to to the water on the original.

I would crop it like this - I feel it is a much stronger image with less water in the foreground.

I would consider cloning out the bird to the right of the lighthouse - depending on the print, it may look like sensor dust or a spot on the print. On a large print it may look OK. Just something to consider as the bird while nice tends to be a bit distracting and doesn't add much.

Jim

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Another way to look at it: If you were buying a used lens - would you prefer one that had always had a protective filter on it or one that was naked to the elements? I know which one I would buy. And I know how I keep my lenses - there are situations that I remove the filter, but most of the time I prefer to have a high quality filter on my Canon L lenses.

Also, some Canon lenses require a front filter for full water resistance (some Canon white L lenses). Says so right on the supplied lens documentation.

Another way to look at it: If you were buying a used lens - would you prefer one that had always had a protective filter on it or one that was naked to the elements? I know which one I would buy. And I know how I keep my lenses - there are situations that I remove the filter, but most of the time I prefer to have a high quality filter on my Canon L lenses.

Also, some Canon lenses require a front filter for full water resistance (some Canon white L lenses). Says so right on the supplied lens documentation.

B+W, Hoya, Heliopan, and Breakthrough Photography (new brand that has great reviews) are all top end filters (if you get their top of the line).

I like B+W for their brass rings - less issues with sticking to the lens and have a nice feel. Their Kaesemann foil polarizing filters are excellent.

Although you might think Canon, Nikon of Sony would be the best, but they are usually considered second tier filters (they are probably rebranded). Tiffin are OK, but I feel they are also second tier.

Square filters (gelatin - and easy to scratch) are speciality filters - things like gradient neutral density or color warming polarizing filters. Singh-ray and Lee are some of the best of this type.

I have been using Canon DSLRs for years. 30D, 50D, 5D II, with anywhere from 7 to 12 lenses. Sometimes the camera is off when I change lenses, but most of the time the camera remains on during the change. With hundreds (probably thousands) of lens changes - never had a single problem with a Canon lens. I had a couple of problems with third party lenses, and I attribute that just to the third party lens.

Do what you want, but I wouldn't (don't) sweat having the camera on or off when changing a lens. More likely that the on/off switch will break from excessive switching before there is a problem with the lens.

Jim

I really like ThinkTank products. I love the ThinkTank Retrospective series (messenger style). I have two in Pinestone (kind of a slate gray woven material) and one smaller one for a Canon mirrorless in black.

Excellent design and finish. Also doesn't look as much like a camera bag as most.

Jim

Wonderful eye.

Perfect post-processing for the subject.

I did not read all the posts, so this may have already been mentioned, but these (especially the first two) are very M. C. Escher'isk (meant as a sincere complement to you and you excellent captures).

Thank you for posting - Jim

I've lived in Las Vegas for the last 16+ years. It is true that crime on the strip has increased over the last year or so. I still feel safe on the main/well lit parts in the evening not going too late into the night (past 11 pm or so).

As others have mentioned - there are other fine photo opportunities around the Las Vegas area (Red Rock, Valley of Fire, Hover Dam, Death Valley (not the easiest place to get good pictures), Bryce Canyon) to name a few.

Also - there are a lot of great photo ops on the strip during the daytime - less risk if you are worried.

Moon over Red Rock

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Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

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Bellagio Fountain during the day

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I always liked the look of my Olympus OM-3.

Wish I hadn't sold it (didn't get much for it and a couple nice lenses).

Jim

Black OM-3

I use a walk stool - it is a three legged stool - very well built and pretty light weight. I use the 22in one (I'm 5' 11"). Made in Sweden.

http://www.walkstool.com

Available direct, Amazon, and B&H.

Jim

Carbon Copy Cloner is a great program. I use it to make backups of my hard drives. Very reliable. I've also had good luck with SuperDuper. Both of these programs are for the Mac.

Just make sure that you have the latest version and that it is compatible with the OS X version you are using.

Cheers,
Jim